YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Board of Elections wants to relocate its warehouse and voting equipment — and eventually its early-voting center — to the former Bottom Dollar store and the rest of its operations to the planned county government center downtown.

But DeMaine Kitchen, director of the city’s community planning and economic development department, said Wednesday the talk by the board of elections is premature.

The plan requires an agreement for the city to sell the former grocery store to the Western Reserve Port Authority in order for the board to lease it as well as approval by the county commissioners to pay for the needed upgrades.

Kitchen said there hasn’t been any discussions or negotiations with the WRPA or the elections board about moving to the former Bottom Dollar.

The elections board voted 4-0 to move ahead with relocating its warehouse from Oakhill Renaissance Place, a former hospital on the city’s South Side where it has been located for about 20 years, to the former Bottom Dollar location. The plan also would move the early-voting center from Oakhill to Bottom Dollar next year.

Kitchen said: “I have no official anything from the board of elections. I don’t understand why they’d vote on something and then say, ‘go negotiate.’ They’re taking a vote without getting any concrete directions. Their process seems backwards. Our process hasn’t started. Until it’s official, it’s all speculation.”

Kitchen said he wants city council at its July 15 meeting to vote on legislation allowing the administration to seek requests for proposals for Bottom Dollar.

The request will be discussed Monday at a council community planning and economic development committee meeting. If council is not ready to vote on it at its July 15 meeting, the request would be on council’s next scheduled meeting, Aug. 17, Kitchen said.

“This will allow us to throw the net out and see what we pull in,” Kitchen said. “It allows us to gauge serious interest from window shoppers. Until something is on paper, it’s rhetoric and rumor.”

Kitchen said: “I have not received one shred of paperwork. It’s been a lot of conversation through the media. I haven’t negotiated with anyone. We’re putting this out for requests for proposals. Everyone will have an opportunity to officially submit proposals. We can put it out and have a number of proposals or have no one propose anything. This allows the process to take place, if council supports it.”

The board of elections made it known in April that it wanted Bottom Dollar for all of its operations though nothing formal was presented to the city.

Now, the board wants Bottom Dollar for its warehouse to store voting equipment and as its early-voting center, which is opened 30 days before each election, and the site of its ballot drop box.

To move, security cameras and fire suppression work is needed at the former Bottom Dollar store.

“We need housing for the machines immediately,” said board Chairman David Bertras.

Election officials had dismissed relocating to the planned county government center to be built by 2028 or possibly 2029 when commissioners signed an agreement in January with the WRPA for the demolition of the former Eastern Gateway Community College building and parking deck downtown.

But the board of elections decided that it would have its operations, excluding the warehouse and early-voting center, at the proposed downtown government center.

Asked Wednesday about the change, Betras said, “It seemed to be the consensus of all the players involved.”

Betras said he was hopeful the city and the WRPA could “work out the deal quickly” for the former Bottom Dollar store so the relocation of the millions of dollars of voting equipment could move there from Oakhill, where there’s been five water leaks since Sept. 29, including May 29 and June 2. There’s been minor damage, but elections officials say it’s only a matter of time before something serious happens at the 125-year-old building.

The board would wait to move its staff, excluding those at the warehouse, to the downtown government center until it is ready in about two or more years.

But Betras said he is concerned that Oakhill isn’t safe for board of elections employees and they would have to be moved sooner.

Betras said: “The only thing that’s going to be a kink into that or a wrench or sand into those gears is we have a contract to sign with an environmental group who’s going to come in and do an environmental study of (Oakhill). If they say this building is not safe, we can’t just protect voting equipment and not human beings. We don’t have a Plan B for that yet because we don’t have the study yet.”

The board received an estimated cost of $30,135 from Safex Inc. to check its offices at Oakhill for lead paint, radon, asbestos as well as the safety of the water and air. No contract has been signed though the proposal has been discussed for months by board members.

“If it isn’t safe (at Oakhill), we’ll have to figure out how to move everyone to Bottom Dollar,” Betras said.

But Kitchen said any talk of the board of elections at Bottom Dollar is premature as there’s been no negotiations.

Betras said the WRPA “need an affirmative vote from the board to move forward” with negotiations.

The city used $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds in 2024 to renovate the 18,285-square-foot former Bottom Dollar building with plans for the Village of Healing to operate an infant mortality clinic as the main tenant.

The rest of the building wasn’t touched during the renovations and the Village of Healing isn’t moving there.

The building still needs improvements to the rest of the interior — though it might not be as extensive for the board of elections because it needs storage space for equipment — as well as roof repairs.

Bottom Dollar closed in January 2015 after the grocery store company was sold to Aldi Inc. It’s been vacant ever since.